


leavе my baggage at the door, i'll claim you mine

by doingthemost



Series: keep speaking my love language [4]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Canon Compliant, Driving, F/F, Feels, Goodbyes, Gratuitous use of song lyrics, Inspired by an Ariana Grande Song, Post-Canon, Song Lyrics, Twyla Sands' Freckles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27288250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doingthemost/pseuds/doingthemost
Summary: "It was a really great week." Twyla smiles tentatively over at Alexis, and the grin she gets in response encourages her to keep going. "I really…" She takes a deep breath, then lets the other words come out in a rush: "I don't think I've been this happy in a long while."After their kiss at David's wedding and one short week spent together, Twyla has to drive Alexis to the airport to say goodbye.
Relationships: Alexis Rose/Twyla Sands
Series: keep speaking my love language [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1992451
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	leavе my baggage at the door, i'll claim you mine

**Author's Note:**

> thanks, ari, for the inspo! and thank you to singsongsung for letting me talk you into this on our lunch breaks.

"A little lower," Twyla suggests, then winces. "Okay, no, a little higher. Lower again – okay, that's close enough." 

Alexis nods her head, hands up in the air, rolling her shoulders to the music. She's slightly off-beat, but she's making up for it with gusto as they try to harmonize again: _I'm so sick of that same old love; that shit, it tears me up._ Alexis snaps her fingers, more or less in time, and the tinkling of her earrings adds a little more rhythm to the music playing through the car stereo. They're lucky the drive is such a straight shot; Twyla cannot comprehend a world in which she can't resist the opportunity to look at Alexis.

They're two hours in on their journey towards the airport; Alexis' suitcases, New York-bound, are stuffed in Twyla's trunk and backseat. She feels each marker they pass along their way like a pebble lodged in her shoe: just annoying enough, a constant reminder of the inevitability of Alexis' departure. 

Is this what people mean when they talk about heartache? Twyla had long ago made her peace with loving Alexis, but never having her. She had learned to find contentment from afar, watching Alexis come into her own with steady, sure strokes, and had resigned herself to serve as Alexis' sounding board and ardent supporter. 

She'd daydreamed about how things could shift between them: maybe a different word, an errant touch, or simply being there for Alexis in the right time or place would have changed their fate. Maybe it could have happened in the Café, or Alexis' motel room, or on the sidewalk outside. Twyla had spent days, weeks, months writing out the possibilities for them in her mind. And then it had _happened_ seven days ago, in the town hall _bathroom_ , of all places. 

"Babe," Alexis says, and suddenly Twyla's back in the here and now. She smiles despite the whirlwind of her thoughts; she loves hearing Alexis call her that, even if she calls _everyone_ that. "Everything okay?" 

"Oh, yeah." Twyla nods, her eyes flickering over to the passenger seat. Adele is playing now – _you know how the time flies; only yesterday was the time of our lives_ – and Alexis is watching Twyla drive, her expression worried. "I'm just thinking."

"What about?" Alexis reaches for Twyla's hand, twining their fingers together like she's been doing it for years. "You look so… cute and pensive." 

"Nothing much." Twyla wonders if Alexis can hear what a bold-faced lie that is, but Alexis seems distracted, absorbed by her phone. She taps at the screen with her other hand, and the music changes: _I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty, and with every touch you fixed them._ "Just thinking about… what I'm going to do tonight, I guess." 

Alexis hums to the music, considering this. "Yeah," she says. Twyla glances over at her again; Alexis is wearing those big sunglasses of hers, but they aren't enough to mask the hesitancy she thinks she sees on her face. "It's going to be weird. You here, and me over there…" 

Her words hang in the air, both of them unsure how to finish the sentence. The music changes again – _just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go_ – and Twyla frowns, wondering. "What playlist is this?" 

"Oh, it's just a little something." Twyla can feel Alexis' eyes on her as she adds: "Are you sure everything's okay?"

Twyla changes lanes, speeding up a little to pass, then shifts back over to the right lane. She's stalling, and they both know it. "I'm okay," she says. If she says it enough, maybe she'll believe it. "I just… I'm really going to miss you, Lex." 

Alexis turns, twisting to try and face Twyla, leaning her head against the passenger seat headrest. "I know." She lets go of her phone, bringing her other hand up to clasp Twyla's hand in both of hers, and sighs. "I'm going to miss you, too." 

There's so much that Twyla wants to say: _What are we to each other? Does your fresh start have room for me, too? Will you miss me like a best friend, or more?_ All of it feels like too much, too soon, though, so she settles for something safe. 

"It was a really great week." She smiles tentatively over at Alexis, and the one she gets in response encourages her to keep going. "I really…" She takes a deep breath, then lets the other words come out in a rush: "I don't think I've been this happy in a long while."

"Twy," Alexis says. Twyla has catalogued all of the different ways Alexis can say those three letters; this instance is one of her all-time favourite moments. "You make me happy, too. And it really… I loved spending time with you this week." Her face turns a tiny bit mischievous. "Especially our lil sleepovers."

"But you're leaving," Twyla says. They may as well get it out in the open. "And we have to…" She swallows, trying to think through her words, before her heart takes over and they come out in a rush: "I really like you, Lex. And I don't want you to go, but I won't ask you to stay. I just… I hope you don't forget about me."

Alexis' forehead wrinkles over the top of her sunglasses as she looks over at Twyla, startled. The music changes again – _I know we meant all good intentions_ – but Alexis' voice is intent as she talks over it. 

"In what world could I possibly forget about you, Twy?"

"You're leaving," Twyla says again, morosely. "You're going to, you know. You have your new job, you'll make new friends." 

"But that doesn't –" Alexis exhales sharply, shaking her head. When she looks back over at Twyla, her face is pained. "We can figure this out, babe. I'm sure we can."

Alexis hadn't figured out distance with Ted, though, and Twyla had surreptitiously watched from the kitchens as things between them had fallen apart. "But what if we can't?"

"Then we can't." Alexis' hand tightens on hers. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. We can't just write us off just because I'm leaving." Alexis' voice is steady, insistent; it's usually Twyla reassuring Alexis, but Twyla thinks she can get used to this, too. "We have something between us, and we should, like… honour that. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah. I do. And we should." The music shifts again – _Can't I just stay here? Spend the rest of my days here?_ – and Twyla wrinkles her nose, amused, as the tension between them begins to abate. "Lex," she says, "what playlist is this?"

"Oh, you know." Alexis tilts her phone in Twyla's direction; she can vaguely make out the shape of several hearts and fire emojis before she has to bring her eyes back to the road. "No biggie, just some songs that remind me of you."

"I see." Twyla's trying not to smile, but the joy she's starting to let herself feel, spurred on by Alexis at her side, the memories they've made, the chance for more in their future, _together_ , is irresistible. "That's… I mean, these all feel like very pointed lyrics, now that I'm thinking about them."

"Mmhmm. Yup. I mean, it's all super coincidental? But I thought so, too." Alexis lets go of her hand, stretching a little like a sunbathing cat, then closes the distance with a press of her lips against Twyla's cheek. It's a simple gesture, intimate in its innocence, and Rihanna fills in the gaps of what they can't yet say: _we found love in a hopeless place._


End file.
